Rayman: The Night of Lights
by RadiantHearts
Summary: Every 50 years, a wonderful event occurs in the Glade of Dreams. This is Rayman's first time experiencing this night... but will it be his last time as well? Based after Rayman Legends.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Here is my second Rayman fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy! This in no means has anything to do with my first fanfiction. A side note, my good buddy helped me out with a few ideas for this story, so I have him to thank to make this possible as well. You know who you are, and thank you so much. Also, there will be characters featured throughout the Rayman franchise, even if this particular story takes place after Rayman Legends. The Rayman franchise does not belong to me, but to Ubisoft. Please support the original series! Thank you!**

Chapter One—

For yet another time, Rayman was staring back at the reflection of himself. He turned to see himself at all possible angles. He didn't want to miss a single detail. He had to look his best tonight. He drew closer to the mirror, running his fingers through his hair tufts slightly. He took another look and sighed.

"Rayman! Are you almost ready?" the voice belonged to a familiar, auburn-haired nymph. She approached him from another room in their home. "It's getting a little late, so I just thought you'd-"

The limbless hero stopped what he was doing to stare back at the nymph. She had a hesitant look on her face.

"Uh…What is that?" she started, pointing at his attire.

"What, this old thing?" Rayman gestured to his outfit. "It's just something I had lying around. I thought I'd try on something different today, y'know?"

Betilla crossed her arms, giving a playful smile. "Rayman… that's a tux."

"Aw, c'mon, Betilla, I have to look my best don't I?"

"You don't have to look _that_ good." She giggled a bit. "You know where this is going to be, right? Outside in the Glade. Not inside some fancy building."

"All right, all right, I'll take it off."

He quickly left to change and came back, wearing his usual attire. His red hoodie, purple top and bright, yellow sneakers.

He made a gesture with his hands to himself. "Well? Is this any better, Betilla?"

She smiled a bit, ruffling his hair. "Much."

"Hey, easy! I just fixed that up…"

"Rayman."

"…Right. Let's get going then."

The hero and the head nymph had reached their destination in no time. In the middle of the Glade took place one of the largest gatherings Rayman has ever seen. Beautiful, multi-colored lanterns hung across many trees, along with other small decorations spread across the area such as streamers, balloons, and flowers. Nearby, a single head desk stood, right next to a microphone.

Rayman let out a content sigh at the view of this wonderful event. It was just getting started, and he already felt it was going to be amazing. No, he _knew_ it was going to be.

He took a moment to look back at the nymph and cleared his throat. "Hey, Betilla. You mind if I go find…?"

"Well, I'm sure you miss them, so of course I can't say no."

"Great, I'll see you later."

With that, the guardian took off and went to find who he was looking for. While he was searching, he couldn't help but notice how lively everyone was. Some were dancing, talking, and some were just sitting on their blankets across the lush grass, waiting for the event to start. Everything here seemed perfect.

He seemed so distracted by all this; he didn't even pay attention to where he was going and— _bonk!_

He rubbed his head and looked up at the one he bumped into. A smile quickly ran across his face.

"Ly! Am I glad to see you!"

The fairy smiled back, ruffling his hair. "Heh heh, I'm happy to see you too, Rayman!"

"Where'd you come from anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, well, I—"

"Slow down, would ya?!" an obnoxious, but familiar voice called out, directed to the fairy. She turned to him, giggling slightly.

"Murfy, _you're_ the one the Teensies put in charge." She told the greenbottle. "I'd expect you to get here before me, or anyone else for that matter."

Murfy grumbled, buzzing towards the pair. "All right, all right, ya got me there."

Rayman hesitated. "Murfy? In charge? Whose idea was that?"

"The teensies. Murfy talked to them and… yeah. But they should be here to support, especially the Grand Minimus. They should be here soon. That reminds me…" she turned to Murfy. "You _do_ still have that copy of the speech the Grand Minimus gave you, right?"

Murfy's eyes widened, and he looked away. "Uh…yeeeah…"

Rayman looked surprised as well. "Hang on, a speech? Y'know…" the limbless hero rubbed the back of his head a bit. "I've been hearing about this event for weeks, but I…I never really attended it before."

"Well, this sort of thing only happens like what…90 years or somethin' like that." Murfy mumbled.

"Every 50 years, to be exact." The fairy corrected him. "It's understandable that you haven't attended. But I know now that you're here, Rayman, I know you'll love it."

Rayman's face lit up. He was only created less than 18 years ago, so to be able to attend a major event like this was an honor to him.

"Great, I can't wait!" the Guardian looked around, scratching his head. "Say…have you guys seen Globox anywhere?"

"Last I saw him, he was somewhere among the crowd with his kids. Shouldn't be too hard to find." Ly told him.

"Thanks, Ly. I'm going to go find him." He was about to head off, but looked back at Murfy. "Good luck with the speech, Murfy. See ya guys later."

With that, the hero went off. The greenbottle sighed irritatingly.

"Yeesh, like I'll need it anyway."

The tall fairy gave him a disapproving look before she bumped him with her elbow.

Rayman had gotten back to the clear opening with now a rather large group of folk from all around the Glade. However, like Ly stated, it was indeed, not hard to find them. All that blue made Globox and his family stand out!

"Globox!" Rayman called, embracing his best friend.

The big, blue glute smiled at him, hugging back before letting him go. "Rayman! Buddy! I'm happy to see you!"

Suddenly, the glute children gathered around Rayman, their smiles lighting up. As if almost all in sync, they called out to the hero: "Hi, Rayman!"

"Hey, kiddies! Glad to see you're all doing all right."

Globox's wife, Uglette wasn't too far away, and smiled over at him. "Hello, Rayman! Wonderful to see you!"

"Hi, Uglette!"

Globox clapped his hands together, barely holding his excitement. "Ooh, I can't wait for tonight!"

"Heh, you said it, pal."

Feedback off of a microphone was starting to be heard. Rayman smiled.

"Hey, look. Looks like it's show time." He pointed over to the stage.

Murfy grabbed a hold of the microphone, clearing his throat a bit. Ly stood next to him. The Grand Minimus and a few other teensies had just arrived, to accompany him.

"Ahem." Murfy started. "Can I have everyone's attention? Hey! Listen up!"

The crowd's talking and muttering soon died down and they all turned to face Murfy. Murfy smiled slightly.

"Great. Well, folks, it's good to have you all here tonight! And, uh,"

Murfy took a few peeks at his script. Ly rolled her eyes playfully, smiling a bit.

"…And I'd like to take a minute of your time to talk about this eventful night." Murfy mumbled something under his breath, and then continued. "As you all should know, tonight marks an important event in history, one that only occurs every 50 years. That event is called…" he glanced at the paper. "Night of the Lights. Wow, _very_ original." Murfy spoke the last part quietly to himself. "The Night of the Lights is a very important night… To keep the Heart of the World remaining strong and our source of magic and energy, the lums gather to harness all their energy together. This triggers the birth of many new lums for the Heart."

Murfy yawned slightly. Ly scolded him. He cleared his throat and continued. "We come here today to witness the beauty and magic…" the greenbottle held back a chuckle. "…Of the wonder that is the lums. Without these creatures, many things would not be possible. And for that, we are thankful. Please enjoy the night, folks!"

There was a minor sound of clapping before Murfy let the microphone go, and the folks continued to talk. The speech was over, and now, all they needed was for the lums to start their magic.

Rayman smiled widely and turned back to his glute friend, who was giddy with excitement.

"Oh boy, oh boy! I can't wait for the lums! This is a really great thing to see, buddy, trust me!"

Rayman chuckled slightly. "Yeah! It sounds great! …But hey, where are the lums, anyway?"

Globox gave him a blank stare before he just shrugged at his limbless friend.

"Hm… Globox, I'll be right back." Rayman told the blue glute, before he stood up and scrambled over to meet with Ly.

Deep in his mind, Rayman already felt something was going on, and it certainly didn't feel like it was a good thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2—

One second the fairy was in the sea of forest folk, the next? Completely gone. Rayman sighed deeply. However, he already knew that Ly liked to wander off sometimes into the woods by herself. She's always told him that it clears her mind and brings peace to her inner self. The guardian always liked this advice. He's often done it as well, but Ly does this all the time. It might explain why she's such a calm and collected person.

Luckily, it didn't take too long to find her; she had been taking a walk into the forest, just like the hero thought. But this didn't seem right. Why would Ly wander off at a time like this? This event _did_ only occur every 50 years, so the guardian assumed she would want to stay and watch. He finally caught up with her and cleared his throat.

"Hey, Ly." The hero began, walking besides her. She seemed a bit startled at first, but once she recognized his calm voice, she relaxed, smiling.

"Oh, hey, Rayman. What are you doing out here?"

"Well, I could ask you the same thing."

The fairy let out a light giggle. "Yeah, you're right. Well, The Grand MInimus was concerned for the safety of the lums. You know, where they might be, and if they are okay. He told me that they are not supposed to arrive this late. We assume something might have happened."

Rayman was a bit concerned. "You… you really think so? Well, if anyone thinks they can mess up this night, they'll have to answer to me." The limbless being clenched his fist in his hand. Ly just rolled her eyes playfully, smiling.

"Oh, Rayman, you always know just what to say, don't you?"

The hero smiled back. "Heh, maybe, but it's true. I can beat _anyone_!"

"Yeah, sure you can. Just like those times you 'beat' me in all those races we used to have."

Rayman smiled. He knew exactly what she was talking about. When they were younger, up to their time now, the two would always race each other. It never mattered on what the occasion was, sometimes, they would bet on all sorts of things, and reward each one another. Sometimes, they raced just for fun! Globox and his children would often join in; however, none of them could ever catch up to these two. They were fast!

The hero smirked. "Yeah, _just_ like those times."

"You mean…" the fairy giggled. "You mean the times I always won?"

Rayman was offended. He put his hands against his sides. "Ha! That's funny. _You_ always won? That's a definite lie, and you know that!"

"Oh, yeah, tough guy?" the lovely fairy joked. "I bet I can take you on, right here, right now."

The hero looked surprised. "Now? But shouldn't we focus on figuring out where the lums gone off to?"

"Hm, you're right. But, how about this? I think I might know where they would be. How about we just go there?"

"Hm…I don't know…"

"Unless you're afraid you'll lose."

"No _way_ am I losing to a fairy!"

Ly giggled softly. "That's what I thought. Now, the place I thought they might be is in the Fairy Council. No other place then the Heart of the World, right?"

Rayman smiled. She was right! The lums' home was the Heart. So many lums gathered there all the time, of course it was an obvious thought on where they'd be.

"All right, sounds good!"

The two stood in their positions, facing a path that would take them to the Heart. They placed down their hands on the floor, crouching slightly. Ly smirked. She was not going to let the hero win this time!

She spoke: "Okay, ready? On your mark…get set… go!"

And like that, the pair rocketed off into the direction of their destination. They began to laugh, getting in one another's way. The fairy council was close, so this would be a short, but very challenging race. Ly smirked over mischievously at the hero. She made a quick dash in front of him, sweeping him off his feet with her tail!

He tripped and rubbed his head. He gave her a devious look. "Hey! Isn't that cheating?" the hero asked her from afar as he picked himself up.

"I don't think it says that in the rules!" she giggled.

Rayman chuckled. "Hey! You wrote the book! Of course whatever you do would be okay!"

"Oh, c'mon, I'm not a cheater!"

"Yeah, right!" the guardian's laugh burst out louder, as he did his best to catch up to the wise-cracking fairy.

The two grew closer and closer to their destination, and the competition only grew more fierce! Ly did her best to slow down Rayman with as many obstacles as she could think of, but she was secretly starting to grow with concern. Rayman caught up lightning fast after each obstacle!

As the fairy thought of more obstacles, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings, and didn't realize they were almost to their finishing point! Rayman smirked and called out to her:

"Oh, Ly! What's wrong? Were you worried you were going to lose from the start?"

The fairy shook her head with a grin. "No way!"

As Rayman called this out to her, she got an instant idea. She giggled, running past a tree very close to the finish line. She drew back a branch with her arm and the moment Rayman passed by—WAM!

The hero fell down, rubbing his nose and head. "Ow! H-Hey!"

The fairy took this opportunity to dash to the finishing point, holding her stomach. They were laughing so hard, it was hurting! Rayman luckily wasn't too hurt so he hurried to Ly's side, still rubbing his nose.

"Hey! No fair!" the guardian complained.

"What, afraid to admit defeat?"

"Well, I…psh! Whatever! You cheated anyway!"

"I might have had a little help. Hehe."

Rayman chuckled lightly. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

After a quick breather, the two looked around. Ly's smile soon turned into a look of concern. She stepped away from Rayman to take a better look around. The hero hesitated.

"Ly… hey, are you okay?"

"Hello?" The fairy called out to the empty chamber.

The chamber of the Heart of the World was open. No lums were present. Someone was here.

"Help! Oh, someone please help me!" a cry not too far from their location was heard. Without questions, the two hurried to the sound of the voice.

Once they found the source, the guardian and the fairy saw a very interesting scene.

The sound of the voice belonged to a woman, taller than Rayman and Ly and even Globox! However, she was being attacked! They seemed to be fighting with large staffs, forcing the weapons against each other like swords. It was unclear who was winning this fight. The victim looked like a lividstone—did he work for the Magician?

This was no time for questions, so Rayman leaped in, and punched the lividstone off of the woman. The woman brushed dirt off her blouse, and sighed deeply. She hugged Rayman closely. The hero winced as he was practically being crushed by her embrace.

"Oh, thank you so much, young man! I was certain that I was going to be a goner!" the woman giggled happily.

"Y-you're welcome, ma'am, but… can you please let me go? You're kinda crushing my bones..."

"Oh! Yes! Sorry!"

She dropped Rayman back onto the ground. The hero caught his breath. Suddenly, the lividstone began to lift up his arm weakly.

"H-Hey! Wait! She's lying…!" the lividstone coughed weakly. "I…I was just trying to stop _her_!"

The woman gasped in surprise. "What?! Me?! Why, I would never do such a thing! Those sweet creatures are living beings! You should be ashamed!"

Rayman crossed his hands and nodded. "Yeah! You aren't gonna fool me that easily! I bet the Magician sent you, didn't he? He's after the lums again!"

"I ain't lying you numbskull!" the lividstone argued again. This time the woman stomped on his hand, causing him to yelp and settle down.

"Hmph! Do they do this often?" the woman asked.

"A lot." Rayman sighed.

The guardian took a look at her. She seemed to be of a species he had not seen yet in the Glade, but, it intrigued him.

She was rather lanky, about eight feet tall, and largely built. Her entire body seemed to be nothing but mechanical parts, most of her body parts shaped in a unique way, almost as if to make her look plant-like. Two feet tall horns were sprouted from her head, along with a pair of bright, glowing, yellow eyes. Her entire body was colored of maroon, oranges and blacks, with hints of gold.

The guardian didn't realize he was staring until he heard the woman's voice again. He blinked before he replied: "Uh, say again?"

"I said that my name is Erir! And, that I, again, humbly thank you for saving me, Mister…"

"Rayman." The hero smiled. "Nice to meet you. So, this guy was messing with the lums, right? So, where are they now?"

Erir smiled. "The lums? Oh, well, when I found him, he was sealing away the poor things inside large, glass containers, so tight; I don't think the little ones could even breathe! Although, I do believed they escaped. And, hopefully, went to their destination."

Rayman crossed his hands. "Yeah, sounds like the Magician's work, all right."

"The Magician?"

"He's an enemy of the Glade," Ly the fairy finally spoke, after walking off to investigate the scene. Shattered glass was everywhere. "He's been using his genius mindset to try and take over our home for a long time."

"Oh, how dreadful!"

"Yeah," the limbless one agreed. "We better hurry up and see if everyone is okay at the Glade."

His fairy companion nodded. "Yes, if this was the Magician's work, there's no telling how fast his plan could move."

"Right. Are you coming, Erir?"

The mechanical woman smiled a bit. "Oh, yes! I'll catch up! I have a few things to take care of first, if you do not mind."

Rayman nodded, and then turned to the fairy. "Okay. Ly?"

The pair hurried back to the Glade as fast as they could. The lovely fairy was quiet, however, before she finally spoke after minutes of silence.

"Rayman," she began. "I…have this weird feeling about the woman we met back there."

The hero hesitated. "What? No way, you're imaging things. This happens to you a lot, Ly. No offence but…you're usually wrong about people. Everyone you think has a mindset of evil, turns out to be good."

She sighed. "I know, but—"

"You have nothing to worry about, okay? You have to stop being so paranoid. You know me, Globox, Murfy, I can name so much more of our friends! We aren't bad at all!"

Ly gave him a slight smile. "…Thanks, Rayman. I needed to hear that."

The duo remained silent afterwards, but it wouldn't be too long until things stirred up once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3—

After dashing so fast back to the Glade, Rayman and Ly could swear they could barely breathe. Their lungs felt so tight, but, luckily they finally reached the setting the event took place in.

No one was hurt, or in any danger, as it turned out. The hero took a moment to take a deep breath among his exhausted panting. Ly panted deeply before she gave a slight, relieved smile.

"Oh, thank Polokus everyone is okay…" the fairy said softly.

Rayman looked around the still crowded Glade. Everyone seemed okay, but there was looks of concern amongst the crowd. His smiled soon changed into a look of worry as well.

"Wait…something isn't right here…" the limbless being returned.

Ly turned to him, slightly hesitant. Before she asked what might possibly be wrong, she quickly caught several looks of distress. Rayman was right. Something was definitely wrong.

The fairy quickly caught on. "Rayman! The lums!"

The guardian gasped slightly. "You're right!" he took a look around everywhere. "They're not here!"

"But…didn't Erir say they were set free?"

This confused the hero. She did say that, so, where did they go? This was where they were headed to, unless…

"The Magician!" Rayman gritted his teeth. He must have something to do with this! "Ly, we have to head back and find him."

"But he could be anywhere!"

"Wait, guys! We wanna help!" A familiar's glute voice called out to the pair. Globox!

The large, blue glute ran over to them as fast as he could along with the greenbottle Murfy.

"Globox! Murfy! Hey, what's going on here, guys?" the hero asked.

"We don't know, you guys found the lums, didn't ya?" Murfy asked them.

"We did, and they should be here! The Magician has to have something to do with this! We have to find him."

Without another word, Rayman ran back into the woods, without hearing his friends calling back for him to return.

"Rayman! Wait! Come back!" he heard their voices say.

He paid no attention to them and ran deeper and deeper into the dark forest. For a second, he looked back to see why they were calling him back, but, he suddenly bumped into a large figure. A familiar eight-foot tall robotic woman stood towering over Rayman. The guardian rubbed his head slightly and looked up at her, smiling.

"Erir! Am I glad to see you!"

She smiled down at him, hesitating slightly. "Oh, Rayman! What seems to be troubling you?"

"It-it's a lot to explain, I have to hurry, the Magician, I…"

"Slow down, sweetheart," the giant woman reassured him. "The Magician did what now?"

"We think he might have gotten the lums you freed! We have to find him, fast!"

Suddenly, there was loud shaking of what sounded like… _cages_?!

Rayman looked behind her, and gasped at the sight. There, in cages he once owned, the Magician sat trapped, shaking the rails violently. Next to him, his apprentice, Raymesis, was also caught. However, he didn't seem to be trying to break free, he just sat there, making no sound at all. They were both being carried by large, heavy creatures that once were his very own henchmen. Ales hissed, kicking the cage in any attempt to escape the metal imprisonment.

"Let me go you arrogant woman!" the angry teensy spat at her.

Rayman looked back at Erir, his face expressing all sorts of emotions at this moment. Surprise, confusion and fear. "Erir? You…you caught him?"

She smiled. "Why, yes! I did! It was no trouble at all, really. They were both oh so easy to capture." She snickered.

"Let us out now, you vile hag! You're asking for it!" Ales kicked the cage, trying to use his magicial powers, but they served no use for him here.

Erir stepped towards the two trapped prisoners. The blank expression on her face suddenly…turned cold. "I suggest you keep quiet, you horrible excuse for a villain." The female returned to the teensy.

Rayman's heart suddenly had a sinking feeling as he heard her talk so coldly. She was no longer the same woman he had once encountered earlier that same day. He cleared his throat quietly.

"Erir… I… I can take it from here, thanks for helping me out, but, I…"

The moment went so fast, Rayman didn't even realize what had just happened. In an instant, he had been picked up by the henchmen, and slammed inside a cage as well! He had been captured!

His face quickly drew one of panic, as he tried to break out of the cage, shaking it violently and trying every little thing he could think of to break free, but, nothing worked. He looked up at Erir, in complete disbelief.

"Erir?! What are you-?!" the hero asked her, still in shock.

She looked down at the poor, trapped, hero and just stood there, giving him a grin. Her true nature was quickly revealed in just one maniacal laugh.

"Oh, darling, you poor thing, you really don't know who, or _what_ I am, do you?"

The hero just stared at her, speechless. That feeling that Ly had earlier about the woman. The hero frowned to himself. The fairy was right.

She smirked. "Don't worry, dear. I promise you'll be taken care of. And so will your friends."

Without another word, the robotic woman slammed her staff hard against the hero's skull, causing him to black out…


End file.
